6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Returning from a stint in the Air Force, Carrol Jo Hummer borrows money to buy a truck, hoping to make enough money hauling produce to marry Jerri Kane and set up housekeeping. He discovers that the long-haul business is run by racketeers and decides to fight the corrupt forces that control the trucking business.
Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Kay Lenz, Slim Pickens, L.Q. Jones, Sam LawsCrime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Jonathan Kaplan's "White Line Fever" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment. There are no supplemental features on this release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, White Line Fever arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment.
I expected this release to look either identical or superior to the one that Swiss label Explosive Media produced a couple of years ago. (You can see our listing and review of the other release here). Well, it is pretty obvious that both are sourced from the same old master, which comes from Sony's vaults, but they do not look identical. And no, I am not referring to the framing discrepancy, which is completely meaningless.
On this release there are small bits of the film that look noticeably sharper, and not in a natural way, plus these same bits also tend to have slightly elevated contrast levels. The problem is, I don't think that any recent work has been done to introduce such adjustments. I expected the entire film to look more or less like what you see in screencapture #1, but then the shifts occur and there is quite a bit of what you see in screencapture #16. On a larger screen, the discrepancy can become quite obvious, especially when there is plenty of natural light. The Swiss release that is referenced above looks marginally softer, but also lacks the contrasty edge, which is why on it the film looks more natural. Oddly enough, the Swiss release is not encoded better -- its gamma levels for instance are not set properly -- and yet it still treats the film better.
So, if you are trying to make a purchasing decision keep in mind the following: First, both releases offer presentations of the film that can be improved, and I assume that eventually Sony will upgrade its current master. Second, Mill Creek's release is better encoded, but the overall presentation of the film on it appears slightly inferior. The Swiss release is softer but with a marginally better organic qualities. Naturally, if you view your films on a larger screen or project, the smarter decision would be to go with the Swiss release because it offers an all-around more convincing organic presentation of the film.
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
There are no technical issues to report, which is entirely predictable because the lossless audio has the exact same characteristics that we addressed in our review of Explosive Media's release of White Line Fever. If Sony prepares a brand new master, it is possible that some extremely small dynamic and balance adjustments are introduced, but at best I think that they would be 'cosmetic' improvements.
Most unfortunately, there are no bonus features to be found on this release.
It is unlikely that Michael Cimino was in any way inspired by White Line Fever when he started developing Year of the Dragon, but these two films are more or less the same -- they are contemporary westerns and their main protagonists are on pretty much identical missions. However, Jonathan Kaplan gives his film an American 'kitchen-sink' vibe that basically makes it look a lot more casual. It is a very fine film with some terrific performances by Jan-Michael Vincent and old pros like L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, and R.G. Armstrong.
Mill Creek Entertainment's release is sourced from the same older master that Sony supplied to Swiss label Explosive Media for its local release of White Line Fever, but I was surprised to discover that these releases offer different technical presentations. While the Swiss release has issues, I like how the film looks on it better, plus it has a few really good bonus features. So, for the time being, I think that it is the better option.
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